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Wichita State responds to 'iffy' late jump ball call

ATLANTA – Wichita State guard Ron Baker saw Russ Smith's free throw bounce off the rim and leapt to secure the most important rebound of the game, the one that was going to give Wichita State a final chance to

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Wichita State responds to 'iffy' late jump ball call

Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports
12:46 a.m. EDT April 7, 2013

Wichita State Shockers guard Ron Baker (31) and guard Tekele Cotton (32) help up teammate Cleanthony Early (11) in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four.(Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports)

Story Highlights

ATLANTA — Wichita State guard Ron Baker saw Russ Smith's free throw bounce off the rim and leapt to secure the most important rebound of the game, the one that was going to give Wichita State a final chance to tie Louisville. Then he lost his balance, so he dribbled, right into a swarming Luke Hancock.

Trailing by three with fewer than 10 seconds remaining, there was nothing more important for Wichita State and its improbable run to the Final Four than keeping possession off that ball. So Baker, the steady 6-3 redshirt freshman, made a rip-through move that seemingly jarred the ball loose.

But before he could tap it over to teammate Malcolm Armstead, veteran official Karl Hess signaled for a jump ball. Possession arrow, Louisville. Game, Louisville, 72-68.

"The ball came loose," Baker said. "That's why I kind of disagreed with the call, but it's an in-the-moment call for the referee, and he made his call."

According to NCAA officials supervisor John Adams, in a statement through the NCAA's media relations office, the call was made because in the official's judgment, "a held ball occurred because two players held the ball and control could not be obtained without undue roughness, as stated in Rule 4, Section 37, Article 1, letter a of the Men's Basketball Rules Book."

Of all the things that will bother Wichita State about this loss, none will sting more than the fact they didn't at least get a chance to tie Louisville. Yes, the Shockers can look back on giving away a 12-point lead with 13:36 remaining or a series of five turnovers in a span of 2:55 that undid them after committing just four in the game's first 33 minutes. In a game decided by two possessions, there were all kinds of moments early on where the No. 9 seed could have done just a little more to build a lead and make it even tougher for the Cardinals to come back.

But to have a Final Four game end on, of all things, a jump ball possession arrow?

"That was one of the plays that was kind of iffy," backup guard Nick Wiggins said. "I didn't see the whole thing, but I saw it on the replay and that's a play that we needed. Coach stresses to us those 50-50 balls are most important and it showed right there. We needed that ball, and it was a big blow to us. I feel like the outcome could have been different."

Michigan Wolverines forward Glenn Robinson III, left, celebrates with forward Jon Horford after defeating the Syracuse Orange in the the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

Syracuse Orange forward James Southerland dunks over Michigan Wolverines forward Mitch McGary in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Michigan Wolverines guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and Syracuse Orange forward James Southerland react in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas shoots between Michigan Wolverines guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and forward Mitch McGary in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan Wolverines forward Glenn Robinson III dunks over Syracuse Orange forward James Southerland in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas dunks over Michigan Wolverines forward Mitch McGary in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan Wolverines forward Mitch McGary shoots over Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Mitch McGary blocks the shot of Syracuse Orange forward James Southerland in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Mitch McGary shoots over Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Syracuse Orange forward C.J. Fair passes the ball away from Michigan Wolverines guard Trey Burke and guard Tim Hardaway Jr. in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

Syracuse Orange guard Brandon Triche shoots against Michigan Wolverines guard Tim Hardaway Jr. in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas goes up for the opening tip against Michigan Wolverines forward Mitch McGary in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

Louisville Cardinals guard Russ Smith lays the ball up past the defense of Wichita State Shockers guard Ron Baker in the second half during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Louisville Cardinals guard Peyton Siva shoots against Wichita State Shockers forward Carl Hall in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Louisville Cardinals guard/forward Luke Hancock, right, celebrates with guard Tim Henderson after making a three-point shot against the Wichita State Shockers in the second half during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

Louisville Cardinals guard/forward Luke Hancock and Wichita State Shockers forward Carl Hall go for a rebound in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

Wichita State Shockers center Ehimen Orukpe shoots against Louisville Cardinals center Gorgui Dieng in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Louisville Cardinals guard Kevin Ware watches from the bench in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four against the Wichita State Shockers at the Georgia Dome.
Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

Louisville Cardinals guard Russ Smith lays the ball up past Wichita State Shockers forward Carl Hall in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Richard Mackson, USA TODAY Sports

Wichita State Shockers guard Malcolm Armstead shoots against Louisville Cardinals center Gorgui Dieng in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

Wichita State Shockers guard Ron Baker is chased by Louisville Cardinals guard Russ Smith and guard/forward Luke Hancock in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

Louisville Cardinals forward Montrezl Harrell shoots between Wichita State Shockers guard Ron Baker and center Ehimen Orukpe in the first half of the semifinals during the 2013 Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

Louisville Cardinals guard Peyton Siva drives to the basket against Wichita State Shockers center Ehimen Orukpe in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

Wichita State Shockers guard Malcolm Armstead drives to the basket against Louisville Cardinals center Gorgui Dieng in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

Louisville Cardinals guard Russ Smith attempts to steal the ball from Wichita State Shockers guard Fred VanVleet in the first half of the semifinals at the Georgia Dome.
Richard Mackson, USA TODAY Sports

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Offered an opportunity to complain about the quick whistle by Hess, Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall only said that "if both players have their hands on it, it should be a held ball."

But ironically, the possession arrow was only pointing Louisville's way in the first place because of an equally controversial call involving Baker that occurred a few minutes earlier.

After Louisville's Smith missed a three-pointer with 3:55 remaining, there was a pinball-style scramble for the rebound that featured multiple players falling to the ground. It appeared Baker, who ended up with the rebound, got dragged to the ground by Louisville's Stephan Van Treese.

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As teams went into the huddle for the television timeout, the Shockers – trailing 60-58 at the time – were expecting Baker to shoot free throws. In fact, as officials went to look at the monitor, it appeared there was a chance Van Treese might get hit with a flagrant-1 foul, which would have been two free throws and the ball.

"I thought the initial call was on (Louisville)," Wichita State associate head coach Chris Jans said.

Instead, officials called a double foul on both Van Treese and Baker, who had made some contact with Van Treese while going for the ball. That was a fateful moment because possession after a double-foul is determined by the jump ball arrow, which was going in Wichita State's direction. Obviously, the Shockers could have used it later.

"I was going for the ball, trying to get the loose ball and I thought he bear-hugged me and threw me to the ground," Baker said. "But apparently I must have hit him first."

Though Wichita State had every reason to savor this trip to the Final Four, the Shockers leave knowing they had a legitimate chance to win. And though their miscues were mostly to blame, having two controversial calls factor so heavily in the outcome won't help them get over the disappointment.

"Yeah, it's hard, but you can't put yourself in those positions to have the game decided by one whistle, and that's what happened," freshman guard Fred VanVleet said. "Obviously you want the call to go your way. I can sit here all day and argue about every call they called, but they called 'em, and it's the refs decision. If he called it, it was the right call at the time, and that's how that goes."

Syracuse Orange guard Brandon Triche, left, and forward James Southerland reach to help Michael Carter-Williams late in a semifinals loss to Michigan at the Georgia Dome.
Daniel Shirey, USA TODAY Sports

Duke Blue Devils forward Ryan Kelly wipes his face and reacts on the court in the second half during the finals of the Midwest regional against the Louisville Cardinals at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Florida Gulf Coast Eagles forward Filip Cvjeticanin (15) and guard Brett Comer (0) help teammate guard Sherwood Brown (25) up from the court at the end of the semifinals game against the Florida Gators in the South regional of the 2013 NCAA tournament at Cowboys Stadium. Florida defeated Florida Gulf Coast 62-50.
Kevin Jairaj, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State Spartans players Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne react in the second half during the semifinals of the Midwest regional of the 2013 NCAA tournament against the Duke Blue Devils at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Indiana Hoosiers forward Jeremy Hollowell (left) and guard Remy Abell (23) react on the bench in the second half against the Syracuse Orange during the semifinals of the East regional of the 2013 NCAA tournament at the Verizon Center. Syracuse defeated Indiana 61-50.
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Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Mike Hart looks up at the clock late in the second half of the game against the Wichita State Shockers during the third round at EnergySolutions Arena. Witchita State won the game 76-70.
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